African chicken curry from recipe tin...kuku-paka

 

hey viewers, i really enjoy cooking and baking which may seem rather obvious. i also enjoy testing out recipes that i come across and follow various food bloggers, some of my faves are nagi from recipe tin and marion’s kitchen. jamie oliver’s recipes are great and of course there is always google. can certainly understand the need to save pennies as prices have gone up, interest rates have gone up. don’t know how anyone with a substantial mortgage is coping with the shock of the rates rises. i am certainly feeling the pinch and have gone back to an old-fashioned budgeting system where cash is king. once it’s gone, it’s gone. it certainly makes you think twice. and no I didn’t need those tim tams but they were half price and besides i took them into school for my work buddies. and guess what? this year you are getting home made culinary gifts, don’t worry you won’t be disappointed, we sekulic ladies are renowned for our goodies.

so back to budget cuts. chicken drumsticks/legs are definitely a budget friendly option. you can buy them in various packs. i usually go for the pack closest to a dozen which works perfectly for the following recipe. being an absolute tweaker, i learnt this essential skill from lovie, i usually add my touches here and there. for this recipe just follow it for about 11-12 chicken drumsticks. the first time I made it i also added in peas and potatoes but this time i omitted those ingredients and it will just be served with rice and maybe a side salad. spicy factor…in my books mild.

PS i also cook this a lot longer, very slowly until the chicken is almost falling off the bone.

https://www.recipetineats.com/african-chicken-curry-kuku-paka/

pickled sardines...

hey viewers are you a sardine fan? if so how do you like them, canned, fresh, grilled, crumbed? have you ever tried pickled sardines? if not and you are a sardine lover like myself then you are in for a treat. this handy and simple recipe was tried and tested during my birthday festiva and made by none other than the lovely linda herself. usually we sekulic ladies are pretty tight lipped about our recipes but am happy to share this one with you today as obviously it is not one of our top-secret ones. these are so delish and i have to confess while my little sestra was preoccupied setting up the most amazing grazing table, i, myself under the guise of being the birthday gal was quietly stealing them right before her very eyes and so was my son! needless to say she was a bit confused as to why her pile of sardines seemed to be disappearing. so good, worth stealing for sure that’s why i am pinching this recipe to share with you. as she showed me how to make them very recently. basically i followed the recipe minus the juniper berries as we didn’t have any. instead i added thinly sliced garlic and some chilli. this was the recipe requested by some of my guests so here it is folks. we used port lincoln sardines. enjoy the humble sardine because once you start you won’t be able to stop eating them.

this recipe came from SBS, click on the link and save it for yourself

https://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/quick-pickled-sardines-le-sardines-rapide-au-vinaigre/m0xnnxm2j

Ingredients

• 150 ml cider vinegar
• 150 ml white wine vinegar
• 100 g sugar
• 2 tsp table salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 black peppercorns
• 2 juniper berries
• 20 fresh sardine fillets, deboned
• 1 small cucumber, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 lemon, zested and cut into wedges

Resting time 6 hours or overnight

Instructions

Place all the ingredients apart from the sardines, cucumber, onion and lemon zest in a pot. Bring to the boil and stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

When the brine has cooled to room temperature, pour it into shallow non-metallic dish. Add the sardine fillets (check for bones), cucumber, onion and lemon zest. Make sure everything is submerged in the liquid. Cover the dish in cling film (not foil) and leave in the fridge for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

Serve on buttered rye bread or the apple and caraway crackers with wedges of lemon.

Les petits conseils – tips

• Ask your fishmonger to fillet your sardines for you, as it is a fiddly process.